The European Space Agency is turning its asteroid-chasing Hera spacecraft into a floating laboratory 150 million kilometers from Earth, and it wants European researchers and companies to send their software along for the ride. After Hera finishes its primary planetary defense mission around the Didymos and Dimorphos asteroids in mid-2027, the spacecraft will open its systems to outside experiments, a first for a deep-space mission. The call is part of ESA's effort to push onboard intelligence beyond current procedural limits, testing ideas that could make future missions more autonomous and resilient.
A spacecraft becomes an open testbed
Hera launched in 2024 and is currently heading toward Dimorphos, the first Solar System object ever shifted by human action. In 2022, NASA's DART spacecraft deliberately slammed into Dimorphos, changing its orbit around its parent asteroid Didymos. When Hera arrives this autumn, it will conduct a close-up investigation of the crash site, gathering data on the asteroid's composition and response to the impact. That investigation phase is expected to wrap up by late 2026, but the spacecraft will still be in good health, so ESA decided to repurpose it.
Starting in mid-2027, Hera will host experiments in a protected "sandbox" environment, separate from its flight-critical systems. This setup allows innovators to test new approaches for onboard intelligence, image processing, and AI-based operations without risking the spacecraft's core functions. ESA's Director of Technology, Engineering and Quality, Dietmar Pilz, described the opportunity as a way to accelerate European innovation and help researchers push the boundaries of what spacecraft can do autonomously. He emphasized that the goal is to mature technologies that reduce reliance on ground control and increase mission resilience.
Why local innovators should care
For European researchers and companies, this is a rare chance to run software in actual deep-space conditions, not just in simulations. The experiments will operate 150 million kilometers from Earth, facing real radiation, communication delays, and the harsh environment of space. ESA is inviting ideas through its Open Space Innovation Platform, with the hope of strengthening Europe's leadership in advanced space systems. Hera mission manager Ian Carnelli noted that while the asteroid investigation phase will be over, the spacecraft still holds extraordinary promise as a testbed.
The opportunity is significant because it moves software testing from the lab into a live deep-space environment, something that has rarely been offered before. ESA is looking for targeted, innovative experiments that can run safely alongside Hera's existing systems. The agency wants to see ideas that push onboard intelligence beyond today's procedural boundaries, potentially enabling more capable future exploration missions. By opening its mission infrastructure to outside innovators, ESA is effectively turning a planetary defense mission into a collaborative technology development platform.
This initiative marks a shift in how space agencies think about mission lifecycles. Instead of retiring a spacecraft after its primary goals are met, ESA is finding new ways to extract value from it, while giving Europe's tech community a unique proving ground. The experiments selected will help shape the next generation of intelligent, robust, and autonomous space missions, with results that could influence how all future deep-space probes are designed and operated.
